A Play of Four "P"s

Another interlude* involves a debate--more
a competition in fact-- between four men whose trades begin
with the

letter "P."

Two are churchmen--a Pardoner and a Palmer--one is a medieval
pharmacist (an aPothecary), and the last is a Pedlar. The
first three are arguing which of them should "take the best
place," or be considered the most important. The Pedlar
suggests a competition to decide: each is to tell an
elaborate lie; the best liar shall "most prevail."

Click on the three pictures (and the old spelling "pedler")
to learn about their trades and the lies they tell.

Footnotes

John Heywood, the author

The Play Called the Four PP was written in the 1520s
before the Protestant Reformation in England. The author,
John Heywood, wrote several interludes. His daughter was
John
Donne's mother.

The Pardoner

Pardoners were licenced by the Church to sell "indulgences"
to those who wished to have their sins forgiven. Their
reputations tended to be unsavoury, as Chaucer's well-known
"Pardoner's Tale"
indicates.

In the Four PP, the Pardoner claims to have
travelled to Hell to search for a woman friend who had
disappeared. Sure enough, she is there, so the Pardoner asks
that she be released. Lucifer is delighted to let her go:

The Apothecary

Apothecaries, like modern pharmacists, dispensed medicine,
and advised on illnesses. Apothecaries were not always
trusted; often they were criticised for the
expense and elaborateness of the remedies they prescribed.

The Pothecary tells of a miraculous cure he performed on a
young woman by administering a powerful purgative. His tall
tale, like the Pardoner's, is in the tradition of
misogynist literature; it is,
however, colourful, boastful, and distinctly scatological.

The Palmer

Palmers were pilgrims who travelled from sacred shrine to
shrine, begging alms as they went and praying for those who
helped them. The palm was a badge that indicated a pilgrim
who had been to the Holy Land.

In the Four PP, the Palmer claims to be amazed by
the tales of the other two, so unkind to women. He has
travelled far, but has always found women mild and gentle:

Yet in all the places where I have been.
Of all the women that I have seen.
I never saw, nor knew, in my conscience,
Any one woman out of patience.

This lie is so outrageous that the Pedler awards him the
prize in the contest.

The Pedlar

Pedlars were door-to-door salesmen, frequenting fairs and
festivals, and selling all kinds of trinkets or "fairings."
Autolycus, in The
Winter's Tale, is representative--as adept at cutting
purses as at selling his ballads and ribbons.

The Pedlar concludes the Four PP by preaching
tolerance, common sense, and piety. One may suspect that
Heywood is more interested in making his play an example of
good doctrine at this point, rather than trying to create
consistent characterization.